About us: history, genealogy, Americana Catalog

Search

Support

Montgomery County history

Montgomery County, NY

We are happy to offer our first items of genealogy and local history from Montgomery County, NY, and we plan to offer additional items of historical interest soon.

 

Now Available for Download

Montgomery County, from French's Gazetteer of the State of New York (1860).  Localities mentioned in this article are:  Amsterdam, Hagamans Mills, Cranesville, Mannys Corners, Tribes Hill, Canajoharie, Ames, Sprout Brook, Mapleton, Marshville, Charleston, Burtonsville, Charleston Four Corners, Carytown, Oak Ridge, Florida, Port Jackson, Minaville, Fort Hunter, Scotch Bush, Glen, Fultonville, Voorheesville, Auriesville, Minden, Fort Plain, Mindenville, Fordsborough, Hallsville, Freysbush, Hessville, Mohawk, Fonda, Tribes Hill, Palatine, Stone Arabia, Palatine Bridge, Palatine Church, Root, Leatherville, Currytown, Sprakers Basin, Flat Creek, Browns Hollow, Yatesville, and St. Johnsville.  16+ pages, PDF format, download now for $2.50.   

 Montgomery County from French's Gazetteer

 

Montgomery County, in Mather & Brockett's Geographical History of the State of New York (1848).  Only a dozen years before French's Gazetteer, but a world of difference!  Treatment of Montgomery County county in the five pages allotted is fairly comprehensive in its treatment of county's history, less so in its physical geography, and somewhat weaker in terms of the towns that comprised it.  We also include the two page summary of New York State land grants for background in this download. 5++ pages, PDF format, download now for $2.75

 Montgomery County, from Mather and Brockett

 

Minden Township, from History of Montgomery County, by Washington Frothingham (1892).  A history of this township, from Frothingham's monumental History.  26+ pages, PDF format, download now for $2.75.

 Minden Township, in History of Montgomery County

 

Canajoharie Township, from History of Montgomery County, by Washington Frothingham (1892).  A history of this township, from Frothingham's monumental History.  22+ pages, PDF format, download now for $3.25.

 Canajoharie History

 

Amsterdam: City and Township, from History of Montgomery County, by Washington Frothingham (1892).  Amsterdam was known as a center of textile manufacturing, and that is particularly evident in the recital of knitting and other fabric firms then in business in this chapter, which covers both the township and the city within it. 54+ pages, PDF format, download now for $3.75.

 Amsterdam: City and Township

 

Montgomery County in the War of the Rebellion, from History of Montgomery County, by Washington Frothingham (1892). Montgomery County was an active participant in the efforts to win the Civil War, as this chapter shows. The number of regiments in which Montgomery County citizens participated was indeed a large one. We will be listing this chapter from Frothingham’s history in both the Montgomery County section as well as the Military History section.  22+ pages, PDF format, download now for $4.00.

 Montgomery County in the War of the Rebellion

 

W. Max Reid's The Mohawk Valley: Its Legends and Its History, chapters 1 - 3 (1907)  Reid’s book, which was very popular in its early years, was initially published in 1901 and reprinted at least five times (this is the 1907 reprint).  It begins with three chapters recounting Native American and French missionary history.  Place names have changed drastically since those days (much is made of the names and shifting locations of the “castles”) but we are assigning it to modern Montgomery County as the most central locale of those that can be identified today.  48+ pages, with illustrations, in PDF format.  Download now for $3.00.

 The Mohawk Valley by Reid (1907) Chapters 1 - 3

 

 

See also:  relevant material in the NYS Canal Commissioners Report for 1878 available for download on our New York State Miscellany page.

 

 

See also:  our Schenectady County page for Chapter 4 of Reid's Mohawk Valley.

 

 

See also:  Native Americans: Herkimer County Historical Society.  Papers from Volume IV.  1.  History of Early Jesuit Missions in the Mohawk Valley, by the Rev. James H. Halpin (1905)   2.  The Iroquois Indian, by Dr. J. D. Fitch (1907) on our Herkimer County page.

 

Montgomery County items currently awaiting publication:

Washington Frothingham's History of Montgomery County

(1892). A three part book of local history about a section of New York State with plenty of it to recount.  The first part, consisting of nearly 400 pages, is a more or less traditional county history, including history of all the townships that make up the county. We plan to publish this part as a series of individual downloads, and have begun that process (see above) with the first section.  The second part consists of a hundred pages of biography of then-eminent personages in the county.  The third part is family history, and runs about 330 pages.  We'll address the second and third parts once we've got the first part available.  Finally, we'll publish a download simply of the many etchings and photographs that appear throughout the text (which are also included in the chapters in which they fall). 

W. Max Reid's The Mohawk Valley: Its Legends and Its History (1907)

Reid’s book, very popular in its early years, was initially published in 1901 and reprinted at least five times (this is the 1907 reprint), was somewhere near the beginning of the end for gentleman historians, who drew liberally on legend, hearsay, secondary sources, and intuition to craft their own versions of history.  While history since those years may have become more opinionated and doctrinaire, it today would at least require extensive footnoting.  That said, the picture that Reid draws of the Mohawk Valley is an elaborate and emotion-charged one.  We think that unwittingly he may have told us more about the Mohawk Valley in the era in which he wrote than the earlier times he describes.  This far-ranging section of his book – the first three chapters – recounts Native American and French missionary history.  Place names have changed drastically since those days (much is made of the names and shifting locations of the “castles”) but we are assigning it to modern Montgomery County as the most central locale of those that can be identified today.  Reid wrote in Amsterdam, and perhaps that is reason enough for our selection of Montgomery County.  As the Native Americans after whom the river is names roamed far and wide, so does the definition of the Mohawk Valley.  We are re-publishing this as a series of downloads.  The first of these, including chapters 1 - 3, is listed above.  The remainder will follow.

 

We have some additional Mohawk Valley material that we will publish eventually.  Let us know of your interest in this area!

 

Montgomery County was separated (as Tryon County) from Albany County in 1772.  You may also want to consult our Albany County page for locations that may have been affected by this transaction.

Montgomery County was later divided to form additional counties. 

Please see our Fulton County page,

our Hamilton County page, o

ur Herkimer County page,

our Ontario County page,

our Otsego County page,

and our Tioga County page to learn more about them.

 

CLICK HERE to return to our New York State page

 

Visit our BLOG

 

 

Find us on Facebook


Contacting us:

Between the Lakes Group is located at 372 Between the Lakes Road, in Salisbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut.  More specifically, we're in Taconic -- a hamlet  in the Twin Lakes area of the Town of Salisbury.  Questions about us or about our products?  Go to our Frequently Asked Questions page.  

Telephone:
(860)824-0640
Postal address:
Post Office Box 13
          Taconic, CT  06079-0013
Electronic mail:
Please Contact us to contact us via e-mail