John Sawyer

Abstracts from History of Cherry Valley from 1740 to 1898 and the Story of the Massacre at Cherry Valley (New York) John Sawyer

Portions of these two historical works have been abstracted in this compact booklet in an effort to present the earliest settlers and a brief history of the Cherry Valley region of Otsego County, New York. The first part contains abstracts from Mrs. Little's paper (read before the Rochester Historical Society in 1890), which describes the location of Cherry Valley, the early settlers there, circumstances leading up to the massacre, and the famous 1778 massacre itself. Tories had persuaded the great Mohawk chief, Joseph Brant, and other members of the Six Nations, to join the British forces to extract revenge for their losses at the Battle of Oriskany. Detailed accounts of captives and other survivors are especially riveting. Additional material is presented in the notes. The second part of the booklet comprises abstracts from Sawyer's book: "Cherry Valley at the Time of the Massacre," "The Final Destruction of the Settlement," and "Names of other Pre-Massacre Residents." A full name index is included.