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- source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
- source: Family History Library Catalog
- the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia
Canajoharie is a town in Montgomery County, New York, United States. The population was 3,730 at the 2010 census. Canajoharie is located south of the Mohawk River on the south border of the county. The Erie Canal passes along the north town line. There is a village of Canajoharie in the town. Both are east of Utica and west of Amsterdam.
History
- the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia
The town is near the former site of Canajoharie, a village of the Mohawk nation. The Mohawk had as their territory most of the central area of present-day New York from the Hudson River west to where Oneida territory started. They also used the St. Lawrence River valley as hunting grounds after 1600. They dominated the fur trade with the French in central Quebec and English in eastern New York after the Seven Years' War.
Europeans began settling in the area around 1730. Because the Mohawk were allied with the British during the Revolutionary War, they were forced to cede most of their lands in New York after the United States victory. The land was sold to private owners. The modern town was formed in 1788, but was reduced to form the towns of Minden (1798) and Root (in part, 1823). The population of the town in 1865 was 4,248.
Beech-Nut, the baby food producer, was founded in Canajoharie in 1891 and served as the largest employer in the town for more than a century. The Beech-Nut factory moved out of Canajoharie in March 2011 and relocated to a new factory in the nearby town of Florida, near Amsterdam.
Notable residents
- Susan B. Anthony, women's rights pioneer, taught school here
- Joseph Brant (1743–1807), Mohawk chief
- Molly Brant (1736–1796), Mohawk leader
- Samuel Clyde (1732–1790), patriot leader for Tryon County during the American Revolution; he served as lieutenant colonel of the Canajoharie Militia Regiment, and fought at the Battle of Oriskany
- Alfred Conkling, lawyer, statesman, and jurist
- Frederick Conkling, son of Alfred Conkling and brother of Roscoe Conkling; he became a congressman for the state of New York
- Josiah Failing, 4th mayor of Portland, Oregon; he gained much of his wealth as an entrepreneur through general merchandise
- Bernhard Gillam, political cartoonist; died of typhoid in Canajoharie
- Myron Grimshaw, major league baseball player; right fielder for the Boston Red Sox for three seasons, 1905-1907
- Jacob Klock, colonel of the 2nd regiment of the Tryon County militia during the Revolutionary War
- Charles McVean, congressman for the state of New York; while in Canajoharie, he was the editor of the town's newspaper
- Ots-Toch 17th century Mohawk woman from Canajoharie who married Dutch trader Cornelius Anthonisse Van Slyck founding the Van Slyck family in New Netherland
- Edwin M. Randall, Chief Justice for the state of Florida
- Thomas James, a former slave of Asa Kimball who became a minister in upstate New York
- Hendrick Theyanoguin (1692–1755), Mohawk leader
- Benjamin Van Alstyne, head coach of Michigan State University basketball team from 1927–1949
- Rebecca Winters, Mormon pioneer
Research Tips
External Links
- Outstanding guide to Canajoharie family history and genealogy resources (FamilySearch Research Wiki). Birth, marriage, and death records, town histories, cemeteries, churches, newspapers, libraries, and genealogical societies.
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