The New York herald., 1922-08-27
A Mohawk Valley Anniversary.

Tryon county was organized $50
years ago and early in September,
1772, the first court was held at
Johnstown. its principal town and
county seat. Johnstown was then
the white mans westernmost outpost
in the Mohawk Valley Next week it
will celebrate the anniversary of the
formation Of Tryon county and its
own century and half of existence,
and honor the memory and recall the
deeds Of its distinguished founder,
Sir WILLIAM JOHNSON.
New York now knows no Tryon
county. 1t is a tradition and if re-
| ferred to at all it is the lost county"
But it had an important part in the
early history of America and in the
first settlement of the Mohawk VAL
ley. 1t was due largely to Sir WnE-
lam JOHNSON that this county was
formed. He saw Johnstown growing
into prosperous trading post and
at the same time many of the other
settlements in the Mohawk Valley
making rapid progress as community
centers. There was need for a more
thoroughly organized government
than that afforded by big, unwieldy
Albany county.
Sir WILLIAM forwarded to the Colo
nial Assembly the peoples petition for
| q dix-fcinra ne
tion was granted and Tryon county
was formed from the westerly por-
tion Of Albany county. The county
was named after WILLIAM NTRYoN,
one OF the royal Governors. But his
personality and official conduct were
so offensive to the colonists that
when the British power was over
thrown they wiped out the name of
| Tryon and called their county Mont
| gomery, in honor of General RICHARD
MONTGOMERY, the hero Of Quebec.
This name is still preserved as that
of one OF the five counties which.
wholly or in part, originally formed
Tryon county.
When JOHNSON came to America
in 1888 he settled on the bank of the
Mohawk about twenty-four miles from
Schenectady. He was born twenty
three years before that in County
Meath, Ireland, and his coming to
New York was for the purpose OF
| taking the management of property
in the Mohawk Valley which came
! into the ownership of his uncle,
| Admiral Sir PETER WARREN, through
marriage with a daughter of STEPHEN
DE LANcEY. Romance had much to do
with this venture, for he had become
embittered against his parents on ac-
count of their refusal to permit him
to marry young woman with whom
he was deeply in love. A year after
ward he married the daughter of a
prosperous German settler In the
Mohawk Valley.
When she died he became, accord
ing to writer's Of that time, the chief
actor in other romances, the most
| UOIdDit VI NuiCu was ludL III WhlNh
also figured MOLLY BRANT, the
sister OF JOSEPH BRANT, the famous
Mohawk chief. He saw this beautiful
Indian girl first at muster at Cana
joharie when she was 16 and when
In spirit Of fun she leaped to the
crupper of field officers horse and
rode around the parade ground with
him. Her blanket flying and her
dark hair streaming to the wind she
flew over the ground swift as an ar
row." says an old romance. JoHN-
son admired her spirit and became
SO enamored OF her that he took her
to his home at Johnson Hall. And
the story adds, "She bore him eight
children and they lived happily"
JOHNSON abandoned his first settle
ment on the Mohawk-there remains
not even mark Of II to-day--and
then devoted all his energies to the
building up OF Johnstown. His home
there. Johnson Hall. was described as