Johann Jost HERKIMER

                   May have died in Burnetsfield, Albany, NY.

Johan Jost Herkimer Germany 1710
Johan Jost (Han Jost) Herkimer was born at the Grand Duchy of Baden about 1695 and was baptized at the Reformed Church of Leimen at Sandhausen, Germany on 20 June 1700. Jurg Herkimer had at least six children, one by Eva Barbara and five by Magdalana. The records seem to indicate that only Johan Jost survived.
Johan Jost Herkimer and his parents emigrated with 13,500 other Palatines, to London, England. The Herkimers were among the 4,000 people, who left England in January 1710, and among those who survived the six month voyage, arriving at New York in June 1710. Johan Jost Herkimer was about 15 years old when he made the long hard journey across the ocean with his parents and he third company of Palatines. The Petries and Herkimers apparently came together on the second expedition in 1710.
The Herkimers lived at Brunnendorf (today's village of Schoharie), one of the seven communities formed along the Schoharie Creek.
The Herkimers and the Petries were among the fifty families moved to Schoharie, onto lands that had been promised to them by Queen Anne, only to learn that the lands had been granted to people in Albany. They were offered the land, rent free, for ten years. In 1720, when Gov. Burnet succeeded Gov. Hunter, orders were issued to move the Palatines to lands more suitable for them. Some families went to Pennsylvania, under the leadership of Conrad Weiser.
Johan Jost Herkimer married Anna Catherine Petrie about 1722. They were one of the Burnetsfield patentees, having drawn lot #36, which was about a 1/2 mile east of the stone church, at Fort Herkimer. What is now known as Fort Herkimer, was called Fort Kouari by the Indians. Their cabin stood east of the church and here some of his children were born.
Johan Jost Herkimer acted as a carrier at Little Falls and at Wolfe's Rift; he was also a 'busy' farmer. Next to Sir William Johnson, he was the most respected man of the Mohawk region. Besides speaking his native German, he spoke English, as well as several Indian dialects, and thereby acting as an interpreter for both sides. Johan Jost Herkimer was a tall and powerfully built man, and he constantly amazed the local Mohawk and Oneida Indians with his feats of strength. He rapidly gained popularity with them. Trading rum and hardware in exchange for beaver, Herkimer soon established himself as the most influential German in the valley.
John Jost and Catherine Herkimer settled their family at the Burnetsfield Patent before 1725. Johan Jost Herkimer was a carpenter, a builder, a surveyor of public roads, and eventually a trader.
Johan Jost Herkimer began trading with the Indians, and played a leadership role in establishing the community. He was one of eleven grantees named in a deed dated 24 September 1730, by Nicholas Wooliver, of "one English acre and nine rodd" for use as a school and church on Wooliver's Lot #30.
Trade with the Oswego outpost seemed to begin soon after it was built, in 1726. Herkimer grew the grain, ran the mill that ground the grain, owned the boats that transported the grain, and paid the men who helped do all these jobs, with presumably a profit for himself on all these ventures. His popularity with the Indians kept the fur trade healthy, and his prosperity and power were well known.
From 1727 to 1748, there are records of Johan Jost Herkimer supplying the garrison at Fort Oswego, in a partnership with Gerrit A. Lansing, Jost Petrie, and Henry Van Rensselaer.
Things were going so well in the 1730's, that a large stone house was built in 1740, with a spot for a trading post. Johan Jost built the stone house west of the site of the present Fort Herkimer Church, near the bank of the Mohawk River. This is the house to become known as the "Herkimer Homestead".
The earliest local church records of Burentsfield Patent begin in 1763, making the dates of most of Johan Jost's and Catherine's children an educated guess, as no early family bible has surfaced. With the exception of son - George's known birth date, the children birth dates are based on their children's or spouse's dates. This is the best one can do until a record is discovered to change them. They had thirteen children, who all lived to maturity:
1.Gertrude was born about 1722, and married in 1746 to Rudolph Shoemaker. She died on 12 February 1806, and had 6 children.
2. Magdalena (a Pitcher ancestor) was born about 1724, and married 1st about 1747 to Werner Dygert, who was born in 1719 and was killed by Indians in 1780. She married 2nd in 1782 to Nicholas Snell, and 3rd in 1786 to Johannes Roorbach. She died before April 1817, and had 9 children, including a Pitcher ancestor -Catherine Dygert.
3. Elizabeth Barbara was born about 1726, and married in 1743 to Peter David Schuyler. She died 1800, and had 7 children.
4. Nicholas was born at the Burnetsfield Patent about 1727, and married 1st about 1760 to Maria Madeline Dygert(b.ca 1730, d.ca 1775). He married again about 1776 to Maria Dygert. She was the niece of his first wife, and was born about 1758. Nicholas was the General that lead the Americans at the Battle of Oriskany. He died 10 days later, on 16 August 1777, as a result of wounds suffered in that battle. Maria married again about 1780 to John Jost Krause, and later moved to Canada, where she died. Nicholas left no children.
5. Delia (Ottilia or Curtelia) was born on 14 July 1728, and married in 1750 to Peter Bellinger. She died on 17 October 1804, and had 9 children.
6. Hendrick was born about 1730, and married before 1750 to Catherine Dygert. Henrick's older sister and brother had married a Dygert. Hendrick died on 1 August 1779, and had 11 children.
7. Johan Jost was born about 1732, and married in 1758 to Maria VanAllen. He was a Loyalist and fled to Canada in 1777. He was buried on 17 August 1795 at Kingston, Ontario, and had 9 children.
8. Elizabetha Margaret was born about 1733, and married in 1758 to Henrick Frey (a Tory). She died on 10 December 1825, and had 2 children
9. Maria (Anna) was born about 1733, and married in 1758 to Rev. Abraham Rosencranz. She died about 1806, and had 9 children.
10. Annetje (Anna) was born about 1738, and married about 1758 to Peter Ten Brock. They were Loyalist and also fled to Canada, where they both died, and had 8 children.
11. Catherine was born on 10 August 1739, and married in 1753 to George Heinrich Bell. She died about 1820, and had 6 children.
12. George Herkimer was born about 1744 at Fort Herkimer, Danube, New York.
13. John was born about 1745, and died on 20 April 1817. He may have married Catherine ---.
Work on the Ft. Herkimer church began early, but the church was not finished until 1767. The church was a community effort, but it is Johan Jost's initials that appear over the doorway of the church. During the revolution the church was used as a block house for defensive firing or observation and storing supplies. In 1812, a second story was added to the church, and the interior underwent a major renovation.
On 5 April 1748, Johan Jost Herkimer purchased the 3,000 acres in the Livingston /Lindesay Patent from Edward Holland. On 12 June 1751, Johann Jost Herkimer and son - Henrick (now 21 years old), petitioned the governor for 2,000 acres on the south side of the River. They were granted this land on 13 April 1752, known as the Fall Hill Patent. The 1750 decade was dominated by the tensions of the French and Indian War. Sir William Johnson decided that Johan Jost's stone house would be the best place to fortify. In 1756, a stockade was built around Johann's home and it became Fort Herkimer. Fort Herkimer would also house all the leaders in the French and Indian War. Although the war brought loss of life and property, it did provide a prosperity for those who supplied food for Army.
During the 1760's, the records show that Johan Jost divided the Fall Hill Patent among his children. In each case, the daughters were given title to the land in their own names, with their husbands acting as witnesses.
Fort Herkimer served as a protected area for the settlers to retreat to, during the numerous Indian raids. The Fort was garrisoned in the Revolutionary War by Continental Troops and the Militia. On 6 May 1767, Johan was a Colonel of the 1st Grenadier Company.
Johann Herkimer's son, George, served in the Schenectady Battalion of the New York Militia during the French and Indian War. On 6 May 1767, he was listed as a Captain in the 1st Grenadier Company.
George Herkimer married on 15 November 1768 to Aleta (Alida) Schuyler, who was born at Canajoharie, New York, in 1752, to David Pieterse Schuyler and Maria Hansen. Alida was the sister of Peter Schuyler, who had married Barbara Elizabeth Herkimer.
John Jost Herkimer wrote his will on 5 April 1771, showing fairness to all his children. Eleven of Johan Jost's 77 grandchildren would marry first cousins, reminding us of the problem of these early families. There were not that many people to marry nor an interest in dividing property. These 77 grandchildren produced 335 great grand children.
In 1773, Johan Jost Herkimer was listed as a Lieutenant on the List of Officers of the Albany Militia. Johan Jost served as the Justice of the Peace of the area for over forty years. It is interesting that he and two of his sons were patriots and fought in the American Revolution, while he had other children who were Tories and fled to Canada. Johan Jost Herkimer died at Fort Herkimer on 26 August 1775 and his will was probated on 4 October 1783 or on 30 April 1784. At the time of his death, Johan Jost was a member of the Committee of Safety and a company of the 4th Battalion from German Flatts and Kingsland District Militia. Catherine died about 1777.
The growth of the farming and trade made the original Burnetsfield Patent into several thriving communities. When the settlers first came to the area in 1723, both sides of the River were known as German Flatts. With the growth of Johan Jost Herkimer's power and prosperity on the south side of the River, the area became known as Fort Herkimer and the north side known as German Flatts. It took a misunderstanding between the state surveyor and the state assemblymen, in 1788, to name the area on the north side of the River as Herkimer, and German Flatts on the south.
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HERKIMER HOMESTEAD
National Landmarks, supported by the National Park Service include "Herkimer Home", "Fort Herkimer Reformed Church", and Indian Castle Church". All are a prominent part of the Herkimer Ancestry.
"Herkimer Home (c. 1764) Next to Johnson Hall, the most pretentious early dwelling in the Mohawk Valley. Built by General Nicholas Herkimer, the hero of Oriskany"
"Fort Herkimer Reformed Dutch Church (1730) Part of a stockade fort during the Revolution."
"Indian Castle Church. A surviving Mohawk church built in 1769 and given to by William Johnson to his Indian friends." - Greatest Historic Places.
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