Sidney High School - Reflector Yearbook (Sidney, NY)

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Ill tl1e VClnI0llt SllffQ1ClS t1'1ct H l11d lost lllS 11nd 111 X7Gll'II0lIt because he llfld 110 t1tle to It He had S911 ed 111 the Pe1 olut1011 11V VV 11 and p1rt1c1p'1ted 111 the b 1ttle 01' S211 1tog1 Lllld91 Ge11e1f1l Gates Gold B1con can1e to tlllS X1ClII1tY about 1800 He l11 ed 011 a fa1n1 bel011 the 13.11 10ad betw ee11 the Susquehanna 111d Una c 1 11X s He 11as 1 bachelol a11d INISQI vet hlS 11a111e XY as found 011 1ll Chdl 111 hsts 1nd Cl1IllCl'l C0llt1llJLltlOllS 1lthough hc 111.1 91 1tte11ded cl1u1ch He IIQNGI used t1e Nlttlflll 1l Bank b11t l1e e1the1 h1d l11s m0ne1 lll thc b 1111 Ol g 116 It to some ne1gh b01 to t1ke C119 of B1c011 s 1ppea1'1nce 11 IS pecul111 He w01e 1 checked sh11t 111d 1 co It cut afte1 the old co11t111e11tal p 1tte1n w1th 1 11 11st coat to match 1nd also 1 p Ill of old f1ded buckskm b1 eeches The e11l1 p1011ee1 11 0n1e11 deser1e much c1ed1t also A11 1l1C1dQlIt IS told of MIS C1pt McMaste1s wl10 went paddhng Ill he1 canoe Whell the 11X 61 11 as sw olle11 to see MIS Abne1 Johnston Tl11s 11 IS da11ge1 ous QIIILL tl1e 11191 11 IS so lllgh Anothel lllCldGl1t IS 1elated 1bout :MIS Redheld l101 seb 1ck Wlth l1e1 lnfant lll he1 a1n1s t1a 1el1ng 11o11e to 16 11s1t he1 home 111 Ve1 mo11t Ih1s would take 11e11e GX 911 110W These settle1s 111 ed 111 log C'Il01llS WhICll WQIG the next step h1ghe1 than the wlg wam Although It w IS 1ude lt gm e walmth a11d safety to them Tl1e f11e 11 as the most lll1D01tdllt thlllg' The 131011991 had to bll1X the co 1ls It lllght dlld 111 the HIOIIIIIIU' hu11 lOl l11e co1ls If tl1ese l11e coals could 11ot bc iound 011e h 1d to go to 1 11e1ghbo1 fo1 1 QlIONLl full All thc settle1s UOl.ll1d th1s 11c1n1t3 l11d log LllJlllS b11t IXIllt0ll Johns ton who bullt the Inst f11r11e house Th1s house l1 IS bee11 added to but IS st1ll st 111d 111g lt IS 11ow thc M1lcspl1ce o11tl1e Sldllffj, blllllllldf-IL 101d It 11011ld be 111ost dnhcult to 111e11t1o11 1ll the c11l1 Sldllffj settlels but I 111sl1 to st 1te tl11t n1a111 otl1e1s 11e1e lI1l1JO1t311lL s111ce 1 11ll1ge g1o11s by ll3Xl1Ig C1t1Z9llS 11l1o co 0pe11te 111d 11 01k fo1 tl1e 11 elfa1e of tl1e 11llage I hope 110119 of these QRIIY scttlus 111ll be Offellded beca11se 1 ha1e selected so icw H011 LX Ll tnnc 1nd space 111ll not pe1 llllt 111012 IN Cll- E28 REAL INDIANS Real I11d1a11s Th1s statement ca11ses us Joy 11ow fo1 lt g11 es us genume dllll.lSQl'llQllt to see I11d1a11s I11 colomal da1s h011 91 El the X613 wo1d IlldldlIS lJ10ll2'l1t t9llOl dlld f1lled the hea1ts of the settle1s 111th fea1 The followmg St01X tells of the Ind11ns who 1nh1b1ted Sldll9X long long ago The SLlStlLl9lldllIl1 Vlll9X 0llg'1llIllV 11 IQ p 11t of the don1 1111 of thc IIINOLIQ SIX N1 t1o11s tw h1ch NN e1e the Vloh 1w ks Olleld IQ O11011d 1gas C11 ug IS Sencc IS 111d Tusco 10165, These l11d1a11s dwelt tlLllt9 D1 on11s cuouslv 111 Qlthel t9Yl1pOld1V Ol pe1n1 ment 11llages as sulted the11 c0111 e111e11ces 'Ihe Illdl2ll1S who settled at Sldll9V 1ve1e kllOXK ll as the HUSdtulll1LlkS pa1t of tl1e Moh 111k t1lb6 These lndmns 11 e1e u11de1 the lead e1sh1p of Joseph B1a11t They d1d ll0t d11 ell 111 W1g'VS2il'T'1S but 111 ed 111 houses Thev 11 e1e much H1019 llltelllgellt tha11 n1ost classes of I11d1a11s A11 Illdlill 11llage was loc 1ted 011 01 11ea1 the pl 1ce wh1cl1 IS 11011 the Sld p01t Iullli mt 2111611111 1 ma11y I11d1111 1el1cs ha1e bee11 f0u11d the1e to 1e11fV thlS MOUllt Moses dll ectl1 opposlte tl1e Sld ney Unad1ll1 blldge W 1s Ill old l11d1 Ill look out The h1ll w IS often bu111ed ON 61 bY the Ind1a11s to d111e out g1me dlld to make 1t su1table fo1 th1s pulpose FIOHI th1s h1ll 111 app1oach111g e11en1y could be seen 11 he11 1 long d1sta11ce aw 1y Re1 e1e11d W1ll1 1n1 J0hllSt0ll 1 f11end 01 the I11d1a11s and 1ls0 of Bldllt st 11ted the h1st settlement lll Sldll9X H15 s011 Vvlttel was left wlth the I1ldldllS fo1 0110 11111te1 llld thus st1e11gthened l11s f1the1s fllelld sh1p wlth the I11d1a11s Chlef Joseph B1 111t wl10se Illdldll 1111119 V115 Th IX e11da11ege1 11 as a h1gl1lv educated n1a11 ha1111g Stlldled III England S9191 1l t1n1es He 11 IS lbSlSt9d III hlS QdUCdtl0l1 by he1 e1e11d XX llll 1111 J0h11st011 1vho ea1l1 took 1 flllCX to l11111 11l11le fall111g Ill lo1e 111th h1s S1StQl IxI0llX B1a11t Wh0n1 he n1ade hlS h0usekeepe1 Although he w as educated and co11ld n1ake h1n1self n1ost llkable at t1n1es Blallt IIQX e1 lost h1s sa1 age healt He 9l1l1St6d Ill the Pe1olut1011 on the s1de of tl1e lung of Eng lalld Afte1 the IJQCIUAUOII of lndependcnct lll the su111111e1 of 1717 the Illdllll t11bcs ' U . . . 7' - 2 . e Q K' Z ' 1 0 c . c 'v ct , 2 .K 2 .C 2 K . , . l t X C C C C . 7 ' ' I . . . . 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LOCAL HISTORY THE EVOLUTION OF THE NAME 0 Sidney has had various names before the present one was decided upon. Ori- ginally it was part of Harpersfield and later of Franklin, but at last, in 1801, it separated and received its first name, Sus- quehanna Flats. Then later it was called Sidney Plains. Finally at the suggestion of a school master, Mandeville, the name Sidney was established in honor of Sir Sid- ney Smith, a British admiral who had checked the progress of Napoleon Bona- parte in Syria at about that time. 0 0 EARLY RESIDENTS OF THIS VICINITY The early settlers in Sidney endured many hardships, suffered many perils and showed great courage, fortitude and strength. Several interesting tales come to us from historical sources about these settlers and their families. One of the first visitors to this section was a man named Kleyuties, who explored the territory from Albany to Otsego Lake and then traveled into Pennsylvania to see if a suitable post for fur trading could be found, since the facility of the Susque- hanna river would make trading most pro- fiable and easy. This visitor was not a permanent resident but he helped pave the way for older explorers and settlers. The first actual settler in this vicinity was Rev. William Johnston who arrived here on May 10, 1772, in company with his son, Witter, who re- mained here throughout the summer, fall and winter while his father returned to prepare for the migration of this fam- ily the next spring. The place was then called the Johnston Settlement after the name of this famly although there were other settlers who came along soon after including the Sliters and McMasters. Rev. William Johnston was born in Dub- lin, Ireland, in 1713. He received a thorough education from Edinburgh Uni- versity, Scotland, which included four years in the literary department and three years in the theological department. He married a Miss Cummins, an educated English lady, who had an annual income from England of .5150 which she surren- dered at the beginning of the Revolution- ary war because of her sympathies with the colonies. Captain Hugh Johnston came also to this vicinity with his father Rev. William John- ston. He was a man who possessed some fine characteristics, including a friendly spirit, a genial temper, and a sincere love for animals. The following tale has been told by David McMaster to illustrate his kindness toward dumb animals. Hugh was working on his farm near the river one day. The hired man brought an ox team to the river, which was swollen but not high. Through awkwardness of the team- ster, the oxen fell into the water and headed for the other shore where there was a high bank. The captain, although he was about fifty or sixty years old, swam to the team, unhitched the cart and headed the oxen for the opposite shore. The Plains, lying to the west of the present vil- lage, where the original village was located. The photograph was taken in 1908 from what is now known as the Airport. Deacon Israel Smith moved from Vermont to this section in 1790 with four daugh- ters and sons. He received 640 acres

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lv became uneasy. Brant and his ' warriors terrorized the villages ' in the Susquehanna Valley. He was very treacherous and could never be located. He went from Ouaquaga to Unadilla with a party of about eighty warriors. He demanded and obtained provisions from the inhabitants. In July of that same year, 1777, General Her- kimer marched to Unadilla with three hundred and eighty militia and was met there by Brant with one hundred and thirty warriors. General Her- kimer's object was to induce Brant to remain neutral. Brant avowed his pur- pose to adhere to the King's party. He met Herkimer again later in the sum- mer and he camped on the old camping ground. General Herkimer camped on the site where the old Sidney glass works was located. He and Brant met on neutral ground halfway between the two encamp- ments. Nothing resulted from this parley except a dispute which seemed to have arisen between Brant and Mr. Johnston who was with Herkimer. Soon after this the Johnston family mov- ed to Cherry Valley for safety. On Novem- ber 11, 1778 the cruel and bloody Cherry Valley massacre occurred. Brant was one of the leaders in the memorable battle. The Johnson family escaped death but most of the inhabitants of the village were killed. The Indians in this country were at last subdued and Brant behaved like a gentle- man again. He visited England and was a guest of Washington before he died. He died in 1807 and was buried in Brantford. It is interesting to know that the first person buried in the Pioneer Graveyard back of the Congregational Church was an Indian. This Indian was a young lad and was supposed to have been disappointed in love and to have eaten poison parsley to punish his sweetheart. Another interesting Indian tale is that a pile of stones was made by the Indians who passed through the valley. Each In- dian added a stone to the pile each time he passed through. This must have been car- ried on for a long while. These facts show The Pioneer Burying Ground in Sidney, which is bordered by the Sus- quehanna River, the Kay- ser Mill and the old Muni- cipal building, was the burial place of pioneers and Indians. that this valley was quite thickly set- tled by Indians. The curtain of time has been drawn on the In- dians in their nat- ural environment but the memory of care- free, warfaring and crafty Indians will never be forgotten. MARJORIE KIPP 0 0 THElWHUfSTANWHX'TREATY OF 1768 The treaty of 1768 established the Fort Stanwix Boundary Line, which runs in our locality from Deposit to the place where the Susquehanna and Unadilla rivers meet and is now the division between Bain- bridge and Sidney. In the early days it served as a treaty of peace between the Indians and VVhites which helped immigra- tion to this section. Three years after this treaty Reverend William Johnston came down from Sche- nectady as a missionary. He also was inter- ested in his father's fur trade. He was so favorably impressed by the valley that he purchased a 640 acre tract of land next to the Fort Stanwix Line. Thus the line plays an important part in the settlement of this village. It is thought that certain benefits should come to us even yet from the legislature because of this treaty, since it forms the boundary line of Chenango, Otsego and Delaware Counties. MARTHA HALL l29l