Symon Symonsen and the Schenecteday Massacre
Symon Symonsen de Groot, My 9g grandfather
There are no known primary sources on Symon Symonse de Groot.
His origins in the Netherlands are not documented.
According to the"Dutch Settlers Society of Albany"Volume 45, 1977:Groot, Symon Symonse settled there in Albany in 1632.
In 1873 Jonathan Pearson wrote"Contributions
for the Genealogies of the descendants of the first settlers of the
Patent and City of Schenectady from 1662 to 1800". In 1883 he stated in an updated version of this called"A
History of the Schenectady Patent in the Dutch and English Times; Being
Contributed toward a History of the Lower Mohwak Valley."'These
writings include a section on Symon Symonse Groot: Symon Symonse, the
first settler from the Groot family of Nieuw Nederland, came early
(before 1646) to Nieuw Nederland, in the service of the West India
Company, as boatswain of the ship PRINCE MAURICE. In 1645 he bought a
house and lot of Jacob Roy in New Amsterdam (New York).
In
Beverwyck (Albany) Symon purchased or built a house, which in 1654 he
offered for sale. He had lately withdrawn from the service of the West
India Company against whom he then held a claim for services of 834
Guilders.
In
1662 he moved his family to the Esopus [Kingston]. He empowered
Johannes Withart to sell his house and lot; but it is evident that he
changed his purpose, for in 1663 he hired a bouwery of 25 or 30 morgens
[Dutch measurement equal to about 2/3 of an acre] of Gerrit Bancker and
Harmen Vedderen, at Schenectady, and still retained possession of his
house in Albany as late as 1667. His house and lot in Schenectady was on
the north side of Union Street, 100 voet [Amsterdam
feet, about 30,5 cm x 100] westerly from Church Street, running through
to Front Street and remained in the family more than a hundred years.
He
also owned a small island which came into his possession in 1667,
described in the confirmatory patent, Aug. 9, 1694, as "a small island
in the Mohawk river within the town of Schenectady possessed for
twenty-seven years, to wit, a certain small island lying in the Mohawk
river to the north of the Hoek (121-1), or point of Reyer Jacobsen's
[Schermerhorn] and to the southward of the island belonging to Joris
Aertsen [Van den Baast] and to the westward of the island lately
belonging to Sweer Teunissen deceased [Van Slyck's], containing five
morgens or ten acres." (121-2). This was subsequently owned by Jillis
Fonda.
On
8 Feb 1690 the French and Indians attacked in what came to be called
the Schenectady Massacre. A war party of Canadian French and Indians
burned Schenectady; massacred sixty of its residents; and carried
twenty-seven of them into captivity in Canada. This gory beginning of
King William's War in the Province of New York constitutes one of the
most terrible chapters of early State history. On this night Symon's
five sons--Symon, Abraham, Philip, Dirk, and Claas were taken prisoner
and marched up to Canada. The following year at least four of them were redeemed.
This event of Symon's sons taken prisoner by Indians became the basis for several versions of tales by story tellers, such as: It
took two weeks to get to Canada through the cold and snow. His first
born son Symon,jr. was returned to Schenectady in June of 1691 by an
Indian that was known as the praying Indian.All the sons did
return to Schenectady after a year’s time, except Claas, and it is
uncertain what may have become of Claas. There are many stories as to
what did happen to Claas but there is no conclusive evidence of his
outcome. Symon,sr. and his wife escaped all the initial trauma because
they were in Albany at abaptism.Symon was a farmer by trade as were most
of his sons. Phillip's son opened the second grist mill in the area.
From
the secondary sources we have the earliest report have of Symon’s story
that he settled in New Amsterdam in 1632, but it could have been as
late as1645. We can estimate his birth year from this to been either
between1600-1612 if he arrived in 1632 or if he arrived in 1645,
perhaps1610-1620.
Symon’s known Residences
by 1645, New Amsterdam (New York, NY, USA)
after 1663, Schenectady, NY, USA
Symon
married Rebecca du Trieux, daughter of Philip du Trieux (Truax), a
court messenger of New Amsterdam, about 1650 in Schenectady, New York
Symon and Rebecca had the following children:
Susanna Groot who married Isaac Cornelise Swits;
Maria Groot who married Daniel Janse Van Antwerpen;
Rebecca Groot who married Claas Cornelise Vander Volgen;
Sara Groot, who married Arent Vedder.
The Schenectady massacre was an attack against the colonial settlement of Schenectady in the English Province of New York on February 8, 1690. A raiding party of 114 French soldiers and militiamen, accompanied by 96 allied Mohawk and Algonquin
warriors, attacked the unguarded community, destroying most of the
homes, and killing or capturing most of its inhabitants. Sixty residents
were killed, including 11 Black slaves. About 60 residents were spared, including 20 Mohawk.
Of the non-Mohawk survivors, 27 were taken captive, including
five Africans. Three captives were later redeemed; another two men
returned to the village after three and 11 years with the Mohawk,
respectively. The remainder of the surviving captives were dragged
through the snow, tied to horses, and left hungry for weeks before
arriving in a Mohawk town north of Montreal. Those who survived were fed
and clothed by Mohawk families and began new lives as members of the
Mohawk nation.[1]
The French raid was in retaliation for the Lachine massacre, an attack by Iroquois forces on a village in New France. These skirmishes were related both to the Beaver Wars and the French struggle with the English for control of the fur trade in North America, as well as to King William's War
between France and England. By this time, the French considered most of
the Iroquois to be allied with the English colony of New York, and
hoped to detach them while reducing English influence in North America. Wikipedia
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