Klock Connections

Klock Connections

The Work of Sherman O. Klock

NOTE: The following pages were transcribed from my great-grandfathers research (Sherman O. Klock), There are about 14 pages.

Tim Klock

Foreword.

To any who may, by chance or otherwise, peruse the following pages, let me say that they were inscribed in a sort of self-exile, and with no other thought than to reproduce my old time life to myself: to alleviate a kind of homesickness that has come over me in my declining years. To others they may be found to be lacking in interest, but to me they are memories, hallowed and otherwise, frayed and worn maybe, but as fresh in my mind as though they happened but yesterday.

Beginning with my birth I will tell of my early boyhood, and some of the experiences I underwent while passing through it. Some of these no doubt will shock, or disturb some sensitive reader, but so they happened, and so will they be transcribed. But for the better part they will record the incidents and experiences such as have come to one who has spent much time in the "open spaces" in the pursuit of fish and game, and of camping and tramping in what was then a wilderness that vast tract of forest land, with it's majestic mountains, it's beautiful lakes, and it's many clear, cold and dashing mountain streams that go to make up the mighty rivers to the north of it and to the south of it; a tract of land that comprises nearly all the northeastern part or the State of New York the Adirondacks.

Then it was indeed a wilderness; nought but rough wagon roads, and dim trails led to the lakes and ponds within its borders, and for the greater part lay as the Creator had made it, it's solitude arid silence unbroken save for the sounds of natures own making. Then was it a paradise for those who craved quietness, and abhorred the raucous sounds of what was then be-coning to be an industrial age. Bat civilization, with it's greed, and it's stupid way of trying to enlarge upon the beauties of it, has changed all this. Rails of steel now reach out into it's inner most recesses: concrete high ways, over which speed automobiles, cris cross it in every direction; cottages, hotels, and boarding house dot the shores of it's lakes and ponds; thousands of it's best acres of land and water lie under the hand of private ownership, and above it all one hears the droning sound of the airplane going from place to place.

All this I have seen come to pass within the lapse of two score years: have watched with jealous eye the change that has taken place when a wilderness such as this had been, took on the aspect of metropolitan life. So I will record in the following pages some of the experiences that came to me as I roamed over this forest land as a boy and man. And if I digress at the beginning to give a sketch or the Family of Klock, it will be only for the benefit of those of that name, or kin, who may care to know what I have learned about those hardy men, aye! and women too, who blazed the way for us to follow: who suffered and sacrificed, fought and bled, and bleeding, died for freedoms cause: who held fast when times tried the souls of men who, when at last peace came to the valley of the Mohawk, returned to their homes and the plow. "

Where shadow of hawk and swallow,
Shadows of wind stirred wood
Dapple each hill and hollow,
There where their dead had stood.
Wild bees hum through the forest vines
Where the bullets of England hummed,
And the partridge drums in the sighing pines,
Where the drummers of England drummed."
Sherman O. Klock, Ilion NY 1923
Sketch of the Family of Klock

It is a well known fact, I believe, that one becomes concerned about their ancestry near or remote only when they begin to get old. Certain it is that youth cares little or nothing about it. Suffice for them to know that they sprag from Adam, so what care they if a black sheep now and then went straying in forbidden pastures, or a horse thief was found hanging from the family tree, or a few fair Magdalene's were seen lying in shame beneath it, on down through the years, But when this same youth begins to grow old, when the waist line begins to expand for no apparent reason at all, or when the bald spot begins to appear on the head then will it begin to poke about in search of some ancestor whom it can hold up to view and brag about.

There are however, certain individuals whose egotism is so great that they give no thought to whom their ancestors were, or what part in life they played. But for the greater part we all have a spark within our breast, which at some time in life flames to know something about our men and women who have gone before It is the same sort of spark which flames in heart and soul when we say "this is my Native Land " and which never dies no matter in what foreign land we may end our days, and the same that burns within us for home and fireside.

This spark began to show sign of life in me when I was about fifty years of age. Just what started it to burning I am unable to say. But burn it did, and so I shortly started in to learn something about these progenitors of mine who had played no unimportant part in the making of my country. Much of this had been told me by my father when I was a boy, and as such I had promptly forgotten all of it except some highly exciting things. So now, with him gone, here I was trying to recall names, which he had at his tongues end, of man whom I desired to learn about, and how they were related to me through him.

Digging deep into the history of my native State, and particularly that of the Mohawk Valley I came upon the names of many Klock's who had resided therein, in a more or less illustrious manner. But how I was related to them I didn't know. Neither did I know how to proceed to find out. But I had sense enough to know that I had to trace these ghost like ancestors back to them, one by one. And to that end I went looking for the given name of my great-grandfather, which I had forgotten. Not being able to gain any information here about, I wrote to an uncle, who was the only one living of my grandfathers large family, and he answered and said that it was Jacob, Now that was entirely to my liking, for there had been a Colonel Jacob Klock in the War of Independence from whom I would gladly have claimed descent. And it seemed reasonable to me that he was of my line of decent, for my fathers name was Jacob, he being named after an uncle who was the son of my great grandfather.

So in time, I got to believing that it was true, and went swaggering about, telling everyone that I was descended from this old hero, until a slender little woman up in the country where I was born gave it the lie by telling. me, and proving it too, that my great-grandfather's name was JOHN. And so did my claim go sky-hooting, and so did my faith in my uncles memory, But the spark within me only flamed the higher at this sudden downfall, and I straightway began a systematic search for this illusive great-grandsire of mine, Letters by the score were sent out into every State in the Union. These were addressed to the Postmasters in various cities and large towns, asking them to forward such to "any Klock" within their province. This brought such wonderful results that I soon became so swamped with correspond-ence that I seriously considered hiring a stenographer to take my dictation and answer them But this, I will say, was promptly vetoed by my wife who possibly feared that I might become even more entangled than I already was, And so for a number of years I hammered away, burning considerable daylight, as I did so, in my efforts to keep up with this large correspondence. Time worn church books, the pages yellow with age, were examined to obtain records of birth, baptism, and marriage of early Klock's. Some of these were examined by myself, and others were gone over by people whom I employed, Then when my work would allow, I drove about the country, and with my wife, searched every cemetery far and near collecting as we went, Klock tombstone records, and in some instances poison ivy and bee stings as we poked about in neglected burial grounds and old family plots. In these a shovel was often required to dig out the marker which had fallen down to become deeply embedded in the earth. Old people were visited to obtain the information they alone could give, and still older Bibles were thumbed for the records they contained.

And so, little by little, I traced my line of descent back to old Hendrick Klock, that sturdy pioneer who settled quite near the present St Johnsville, N.Y. in 1723, And in so doing I learned considerable about the Family of Klock, the early arrival in this country of those bearing that name, as well as of those who descended from them. All of which I have recorded in a separate volume, from which the material for this brief sketch is taken.

Now so far as I am concerned, the tracing of my ancestry back to Hendrick Klock is sufficient. But for the benefit of others who may seek to go further back than that, I will say the Family of Klock is of consider-able antiquity, a noble family bearing that name having existed in Branden-burg, Germany, in the l096, when the Klock, Coat- of-arms was borne in the first Crusade by Sir knight Johan von Klock. This historical data is found in a book entitled "Feysabeinds Seschichte Der Krenzzuge" History of the Crusades and Crusaders, the first printed book published in Frankfort, Germany, and the most exhaustive and detailed history of the kind ever produced. A descendent of this Sir Johan von Klock, one Rudolph von Klock, was made a Barone of the Roman Empire by Emperor Sigsmund, and during the reign of Frederick, when the Electorate of Brandenbeg was united to the duchy of Prussia, Herman von Klock was created a Count. Names of other Klock's who resided in Frieberg also appear, and these, I presume, are those descended from Sir Johan, The Coat of Arms of this family, consist of (in colors and gold) Shield, Quarterings, Mantling, Helmet, Coronet and Crest.

Again in the year 1450, we find the name of Heinrich von Klock who, for deeds of valor was given the honor of creating the motto on another Klock Coat of Arms. " The motto reads, "Prends Moi tel que je suis", meaning, "Take me such as I am", and refers to an incident in which the daughter of the Prince Du Rohen was stolen, The Prince, so the story runs, promised his daughter in marriage to any gentleman who would secure her and bring her back to him. Then the tale goes on to say that one Henry Klock rescued the fair maid from her captors, returned her to her father, and demanded her as his bride. But it seems that the Prince was a stickler in matters pertaining to birth, and in return demanded of Henry his rank, whereupon the latter replied. "Rends Moi tel Que J. sis", and ignoring her father in the matter the girl replied "I will do so", and they were married with out further delay. History does not say whether they lived happily ever after, or not, but I presume they did and that the usual run of small squalling consequences only added to their happiness.

Now what about this German., " Klock Coat of Arms", with the motto inscri-bed in the French language? Now my answer to that is, that it is a hard nut to crack, and that I will leave the cracking of it to someone who has more means than I. Authorities on matters pertaining to heraldry are absolutely without any sense of shame when making charges for an inquiry such as that, so after I had greased the palms of a couple of them with half a hundred good hard iron men, and without any satisfaction to myself, I let the matter drop. Tracing the Coat of Arms in this country, I find that it was first possessed by Jacob G. Klock of Coldwater, Michigan, a descendent of Judge Jacob G. Klock of Revoluntionary days. This Coat of Arms is now used by those of the name of Klock, as well as they who are kindred to it, here in this country, but with what authority I do not know. However, in colors, it is a beautiful and in heraldic terms would be described as Fleur de lis on a sable shield, chained dogs, rampant gules and silver surmo unting by silver dog, facing dexter. Gold bells, plumes gule. Another "Coat of Arms", appear on documents of Stuttgardt, dated 1471, and 1491, and are described as gules, a fish erect and embowed the back broken open. Crest: two eagles wings. Each charged with a fish of the field. And still another German Klock "Coat of Arms" is described as Gules, a fish argent in fess in a demi circle.

In Holland we also find the name of Klock, the family of which have a Coat of Arms, described as Argent a bell azure, gules a bell or. Now it is well to remember this when someone says that the name of Klock originated in Germany, that it is purely that and nothing else, and that those who came to this country at an early day, alone came from that country. Now long before the coming of the Palatines in 1709-1710 to West Camp on the Hudson, and even before the landing of the Pilgrims, the name of Klock had become a fixture in the life of New Amsterdam, now the great city of New York, which was settled by the Dutch, is now owned mostly by Jews, and until the last election (l933) run by the Irish.

First comes Pieter Clouq (Peter Clock) who's name appears on the books of the Dutch East India Company as their agent, when it first began to operate from New Amsterdam. But of him I find no further trace. He may have returned to his native land, as some did after the Dutch colony of New Netherlands was ceded to the English; or he may have removed farther up the valley of the Hudson to old Fort Orange, where he may have became a trader, to journey up the placid waters of the Mohawk, and barter his wares with the red skinned people who lived along it, for the store of fur they possess.

There was also another Peter Klock who, Fernow the "Historian" says, belonged to a distinguished family of Holland, who bought of Sebout Classon, August 16th, l649, a lot on the highway near the garden of John Damon on the island of Manhattan, But Fernow fails to say at what date this Peter Klock arrived on these shores, so it is hardly safe to say that he and the Peter Klock of the Dutch East India Company is one and the same. But that is immaterial, for I only wish to show that this Peter Klock was a Hollonder.

In 1658 ( "Bergens early settlers of Kings Co., page 64) we have Pelgrom Klock- emigrating to these shores. "Fernow" calls him a Notary of Midwout on Long Island, and Stoathoff, another Historian, calls him minister and farmer in the year 1678, His name, among others, appears in the list of those taking the Oath of Allegiance on the 26-27-29, and 30th day of September. As Pelgrom Klock, 3l Jeare. The 31 Jeare refers to the length of residence in the ci ty. This occured in the year 1687, thus making his arrival two years earlier than the date given above, and proves that he was one of the original settlers, as in cases where they were born on this side they were inscri bed as native.

Another early arrival of the name to these shores, is found in an old ship list of the year 1641, in which Abraham Klock is listed as a passenger, He was a carpenter, and in a biographical sketch is credited with various amounts of work done between the year 1644 and 1646: Notable on the house of Adriaen van der Douek, Castle Island, which burned down shortly after being built, Abraham Klock married one Tryntje (Catherine) Alberts, and lived on the present northerly side of Pearl Street, between Old Slip and broad Street, then a part of the street called "The Water Side". About the year 1674, at the final cession to the English, when a census was taken of the property to ascertain its relative value, and also the national descent of the population, Tryntje Clock is listed as Dutch, and her pro-perty valued at $1000.00.

By this it would appear that Abraham was then deceased, which causes one to wonder if he were not the "Carpenter Abraham" mentioned by Judge Clearwater in his history of Ulster County, which says in part: Whatever the precise facts, the substance of the narrative is that the Indians immediately set on fire Stoll's grain stacks and barn and committed other devastations. Jacob Janson Stoll and Thomas Chambers went to the Strand and hired a yacht to go up the river to make their report. Returning to the fort the party numbered thirteen, the Sergeant, Andries Laurens, with five men, Thomas Chambers, Jacob Janson Stoll, "A carpenter Abraham by name, " Pieter Dircks and his man, Evert Pell's boy and Louis the Frenchman, who at the tennis camp near the strand, allowed themselves to be taken prisoners. Thomas Chambers was exchanged for a savage, one soldier escaped during the night and the remainder held in captivity.

What became of them? School maker the Historian writes that they were compelled to "Run the Gauntlet" and that those who survived the ordeal were burned alive, except Polls who was saved by an Indian maiden whom he married and later refused to be exchanged. This occured in the year 1659, and probably in the fall, as indicated by Stoll's stacks of grain. Now I would not wish any such fate on Abraham, but I believe he was the car-penter Abraham named above, and no doubt came to his death in the manner described. And so I will continue to believe it until I have proof that he died at a later date.

While there may have been other children born to Abraham Klock and Tryxije Alberts, I have only been able to find the records of three, namely: Sara, born Nov 10, 1651, who married in 1674, Daniel Rapalje of Wallabout, Martin, born Sept. 10, 1656, who married in 1682 Elizabeth Abrahams (vander-heul), and Albertus who was BAPTISED Sept. 26,1660. Now this last named date does not shatter my belief for the baptism of the infant Albertus could, under the circumstances, have been put off for a time. So until the birth date of this child comes to light, making it impossible for his father to have died in 1659, I will continue to hold to my belief.

The descendants of Abraham Klock seem to have been of some influence in the life of old New York. Valentine, in his history of the City of New York, time -- toward the close of the 17th century says: Martin Clock was a son of Abraham Klock, one of the early Dutch settlers. Mr. Clock, (note that he spells the name beginning with a "C" instead of a "K") occupied for a time, the ancient homestead of his. family, on the present north-west corner of Pearl Street and Hanover Square. He was by trade a cooper, and subsequently retired from business and removed to a farm on this island, where for many years he represented the out Ward in the Common Council. While I have never traced the matter out, it appears that some of his ( Abrahams) descendants, went over into Conneticut to become of some prominence there. Huntington's History of Stamford says that John Clock was admitted an inhabitant to vote in 1725, and I have read in some History that this man was made a Captain in the French and Indian War.

While the foregoing has shown that these early Clock arrivals were Hollanders, it casts no light on the projenitor to whom the Mohawk valley Klock's owe their being : namely Hendrick Klock, the Pioneer who settled near the present St. Johnsville, about the year 1722, and who's nationality and place of birth (to me at least) is shrouded in mystery. This has ever been a debatable question among his descendants, some claiming he was German, while others maintained that he was a Hollander. Personally, this means little to me. Would as life, be one or the other, for no doubt there are some of both who are good, and some who are bad, as good and as bad as I. So with thought in mind I will proceed to tell what little I have learned concerning this man Hendrick Klock.

First, note that his name was HENDRICK, and HIENRICH, the latter being the German way of spelling, HENRY, and the former the Holland Dutch way of spelling it. Just how he himself spelt it, is hard to say, for he was unable to write, and the few papers that called for his signature bears only "his mark". But, whatever bearing this may have on his nationality, the fact remains that his name was spelt HENDRICK where ever written by others, except in one instance, when it was the German way by the German dominie Kocherthal.

The old family Bibles of his two great-grandsons place his coming to this country in the years 1708 and 1710. A difference of two years in the time of his arrival. John Beekman Klock Bible records his coming from "Hessen Kassel" (a principality existing in Germany at that time) in the year 1710, and of settling on the "Mohawk River", died in the year 1760, aged 97 years, had his fourth wife, and was then 15 years a widower. The Joseph G. Klock Bible records his coming in 1708, Family tradition, coming from numerous sources have him coming from both Holland and Germany, and with three to five brothers. But tradition has failed to say what become of them, and all efforts of mine to bring them to light have been unsuccessful. Tradition, while it should never be ignored, sometimes enlarges upon the facts of the case until it becomes greatly distorted.

Of the said wives of Hendrick Klock I know nothing, other then the record of birth and baptism of his son JOHANNIS, born October 30, 1711, and baptised November 7, 1711, in which the mother is called "Maria Margretha". This is a "Kocherthal record" and the dominie being a German naturally spelt the name Hendrick, HIENRICH. There is also another record of a daughter Magdalena, born February 9, 1727, baptised June 9, 1728, to a Hendrick Klock and wife Jacomyntie, (the English equivalent being Jemima) but whether this applies to Hendrick Klock the pioneer, or to his. son Hendrick, is a question to myself, albeit men were men in those days, with Coed stiff spines.

The first appearance, to my knowledge of the name of Hendrick Klock is found in the ledger accounts of Governor Hunter, when he was acting in that capacity for Great Britain's New York Colony in the years 1710 to 1714, and had under his supervision the Palatine emigrants who came to these shores during that time. In these are found the names of such, and among them is that of Henrich Glock (note the letter G beginning the surname) who, with out any doubt was none other than our own Hendrick Klock. These volumns are to be found in the Colonial Office in London, England, and contain besides the names of these emigrants, the number in each family, and the amount charged by the Governor against his Government for their subsistence. An examination of these volumns no doubt would show the number of children in the family of Hendrick Klock when he arrived in this country, and might even tell the names of such And moreover it would show the amount charged for the keep of his family and the length of time they subsisted on the rations of Governor Hunter. I might say here that the charge Governor Hunter made to his Government for the keep of these, was 6d for persons above 10 years of age and 4d per diem, for children under 10 years of age, which afer allowing for the cupidity of this notorious Governor was probably more than half the actual cost of their maintenance.

These emigrants, said to have come from the Lower Palatinate, and led hither by the Rev. Joshua Kocherthal their spiritual advisor, were quartered on the Hudson River, in what was called "West Camp," and "East Camp," while others were quartered in New York City. Many of these are listed as be-longing to any of them, and among these is the name of Henrich Glock, Now it is a well known fact that those who were employed in making tar, and barrels in which to store it, for the British Navy, were so destitute that they hardly had sufficient clothing to cover their nakedness. But there may have been some of these emigrants who were not so distressed, who had hidden away upon their person considerable gold which they kept carefully concealed, and if so then I believe that Henrich Glock was one of them. These lowly people, unlettered though they were, were not the dumb creatures that some have thought them to have been, and it may be that Henrich Glock pulled a good one, when he took shipping for this country.

The Kocherthal records (of birth and baptism) prove that Henrich Clock was here in 1711 when the birth and baptism of his son Johannes was recorded, and shows that he belonged to the "upper German Colonies," which means that he and his family were quartered at one of the "camps" along the Hudson River. But as I said before his name is not listed as belonging there, and neither have I found elsewhere that he ever was there, or that he went with those who later went into the valley of the Schoharie, although SirWilliam Johnson does seem to point to his having come into the Mohawk Valley from that place, when he describes him as, "a yeoman from Scholarie".

The first authentic knowledge we have of Hendrick Klock here in the Mohawk valley is when he and Christian House jointly purchased by contract, from Harmanus Wendel of Albany, lot No. 13 of the Harrison patent. The price paid Wendel, one of the representives of Governor Burnet, was two hundred and fifty pounds, or about $1250. Now it is well to remember this, when some one says that the Klock' s in early days stole their land from the Indians. Harmanus Wendel died before the deed was executed, and August 24th, 1752 (about 10 years after lot No. 13 had been purchased by Klock and House) lot no. 13 was deeded to Henrick Klock and Henrich Walrath by Jacob Wendel and his mother, Anna Wendel the widow of Harmanus. Later Henrich Walrath deeded by quick claim deed, his interest in lot No. 13 of the Harrison patent, and Hendrick Klock became the sole owner of those rich and fertile acres of Mohawk valley land, the number which was some six hmdred I believe. The original contract of this transfer of land is now in the possession of Mr. Max Otto von Klock, of Melrose, Mass., who has sought for many years to place Hendrich Klock among those of his own ances-try which were, as the "von" indicates, of the German family of Klock's, but with little or no success, and small satisfaction to himself I believe, says Mr Max Otto von Klock: According to the records of "Fraunalb" Heinrich Klock was born October the 7th, 1682. A Now there is no question about that, for it seems to be a matter of record, but for for he being the Hendrick Klock who settled here in the Mohawk Valley, why, that is quite another thing. The date of this mans birth (1682) doesn't agree with the early Klock Bible records, nor with the inscription of Hendrick Klock' s marker in the old Klock Burial Ground, both of which record his death as occurring the year 1760, aged 97 years, which would fix the date of his birth in the year 1663, a matter of 19 years or so between the births of the two men.

But, before fixing the nationality of Hendrick Klock as German, one should remember that there were Klocks of Holland birth here, long before his birth, and is not unreasonable to think that he was related to them, and was drawn hither by the influence of their descendants, or the knowledge that they were already here. I realize that I am skating upon pretty thin ice when I say this, knowing, as I do that he came over with the Palatines, and with them drew his "rations" from the commisserate of Governor Hunter. Now it is a matter of record that Pelgrom Clock lived in the city of Albany and that the latter was drawn up the valley by his influence. So too, might there have been other Klocks living to the westward of Albany, and I am led to believe that they did from the following item which appears in the"Sir William Johnson Papers, " (vol. 1, page 88.) which states that one, "Annatje Clock," in the 1748, was taken prisoner by the Indians and French near Saratoga, and carried a captive to Canada, where she was held for ransom or exchange The name "Annatje" is so clearly Dutch that it leads to the conclusion that some of the Clocks from New York City might have come up and settled to the north of old Fort Orange.

There was also a Jonathan Clock from Albany county who served in the line as a soldier of the Revolution, but neither he nor the Annatje who was captured near Saratoga, were, I believe any son or daughter of Hendrick Klock, for all such stuck pretty close to the vicinity were their father had settled, and I find no evidence of their having done otherwise. So until I have proof that Jonathan and Annatje were descendants of Hendrick Klock, I shall cling to the belief that there was another family of Klocks who lived in his day, somewhore to the westward of the city of Albany.

Many of these early Dutchman who settled at New Amsterday, Fort Orange, and Schenectady were shop keepers and tradsmen, and not a few were Indian traders, men who plied the waters of tho Hudson and the Mohawk, to trade with the war-like Mohawks. In the lower valley of the latter stream, and as far westward as the Genesee to barter with the wily Senecas and the thieving Cayugas for the rich store of fur collected by them. And so too were some af those Palatine emigrants who came at a later date, and Hendrick Klock may well have been one of them. though there is no evidence to show that he was. But still he may have been one, living as he did so close to the Upper Castle of the Mohawks, and being on such friendly terms with them and their chieftain, King Hendrick (Some say that King Hendrick took his name from old Hendrick Klock, and perhaps he did, seeing that he was ever a staunch friend of the Klocks.)

But however that may be, the fact remains that some Klocks were Indian traders, as the following account, taken from the Doc. Hist. of N.Y., Vol. 1, page 524, will show. "About 12 o'clock on Monday the 30th of April last (l758) an Oneida Indian acquainted Capt. Herchamer that a party of 80 Indians and four Frenchmen were nigh his fort and would certainly come down and attact the settlement that day, and advised Capt. Herchamer to go into the fort and take as many of the inhabitants as he could. About three o'clock most part part of the inhabitants having notice from Capt. Herchamer left their houses and took refuge in the fort:, four families that fled from Hendersons Purchase could not Get in and had in their houses "two Indian Traders nocmed Clock, and six wagoners that were carrying Capt. Gages baggage to the fort. At four o'clock all of a sudden the houses were attacted; and the wagoners being surprised ran up stairs to defend themselves. The Indians killed and scalped all that were below. One wagoner jumped and was killed, the other five defended themselves and were relieved by a party of rangers. In the above 33 of the inhabitants were killed. " This, while it shows that two Clock traders lost their lives in the scrimmage, does not point to their having been the sons or Grandsons of Hendrick Klock, and whether they were, or whether they came from a family farther down the valley, remains a mystery, and no doubt will ever remain so. But however that may be, we will mention here a fact that may have escaped the notice of others, and which may throw some light upon the matter. When the Clock traders were killed at tho German Flatts in 1758, as noted elsewhere, there was with them one John Ehie (he was also slain at that time) who was a barge man on the Mohawk river and also a trader among the Indians. Now there was one Mary Eliza Clock who was born May 15, 1745 and who died in 1822, that married Christian Ehle, the brother of the above John, and as the home of he Ehle's was at Freys Bush, which was but a short distance from tho stronghold of the Klock tribe, it may be that young Chris Ehle swam the Mohawk to go a courting one of old Hendrick's Granddaughters, In fact it seems certain that he did, and that he fetched her back with him as his wife, but from what Klock home I can not say.

We will now return to Hendrick Klock when he and Christian House purchased Lot No. 13 of the Harrison Patent. He was then past 60 years of age, -an age when most men think of quitting, instead of beginning, yet he carried on for a score of years beyond that, before he began putting his house in order by making his will. This ancient document is now (1955) in the possession of Miss Elizabeth Normander of Philadelphia, N.Y. who kindly sent me, for examination, that, and many other old papers relating to Hendrick Klock, his children, and his children's children, which to me was a veritable gold mine of information.

The will of Hendrick Klock, bearing date of July 12th, 1743, in which Jacob Klock is named executor, mentiones the following children: Honrich, Johannes, Johangurge, Conrad, Hannarum, Hanjost, and Barvalis, wife of Christian Nellis. Of the above children, Conrad, Hannarum and Hanjost were minors, and named so in the will when it was written in 1743. No mentions made of any other children, although it is said that he had a daughter Magdalena who married William Nellis, the brother of Christian who wed Barvalis, but of that we will have something to say further on. There was also an Adam Klock, who tradition says was the son of of Hendrick, and who was killed on the battlefield of Oriskany, August 6th, 1777, who will also be taken up later on, as will Jacob Klock who was made executor, and who is said to have been his eldest son. A sketch of the above named children follows.

Honrich Klock

Honrich Klock, as named in the will, found to have been called Hendrick Klock, Jr. in certain other of the "Normander Papers", his name also appears in a list of those taking the Oath of Allegiance in the city of Albany the 3rd day of January 17l6, in which it appears as Hans Hendrick Clock. In this list is also found the name of Hendrick Clock, the pioneer, who took the oath prescribed on the 11th day of October the preceding year. So it will be seen that Hans Hendrick was twenty one years of age at the time, and therefore born no later than the year 1695, and in a other than this.

Although we have never found the marriage record of this man, we have found the record of marriage of his son Johannes in the book's of the Dutch Reformed Church of Stone Arabia, which would seem to prove the marriage of his father. The Record reads as follows: AJohannes Clock, son of Hans Hinrich Clock, with Anna Margretha, Daughter of Thomas Schumaker, inhabitant at Little Falls, March 11, 1759 (60).

Another record of the same Church, records the marriage of his daughter Anna Margretha, to Christopher Phillip Fox in the year 1760, and another daughter, Maria Lena, baptized June 9th, 1728, married Lt. Johannes Bellinger who was slain at tie Battle of Oriskany. There also appears to have been a son Johan Henrich, who married Anna Jung, (Young) but I have no proof that he was, and neither have I proof that there were other children than those I have named, but ro doubt there was such, and in time they may come to light.

Little is known concerning the life of Han Hendrich Klock. He was no doubt (as his given name would seem to indicate) the eldest son of Hendrick Klock, the pioneer, and as such he ought to succeeded to his father's estate, which he didn't and which sets me to wondering if there wasn't "a woodchuck in the wood pile" somewhere. But this matter will be threshed out a bit farther on. There are however, a few documents bearing his "mark" notable that of the Application for a Patent of land, bearing the date of April 25, 1755, which consisted of 50,000 acres lying between Canada Creeks and extending back twenty five miles from the Mohawk river. This patent was never granted to the petitioners, among was "Hengrig" Klock (with an H. for his mark) and in 1769 was granted to Sir William Johnson, to become known as the "Royal Grant".

In this petition appear the names of other Klocks, namely: Hannes Klock (K for his mark) who was probably Johannes the son of HendrIck the pioneer. Knorad Klock (KK his mark) . George Klock Jr. (no mark) Jerry (George) Klock Sr. (no mark) John Klock Jr , (no mark) who was, as his name indicates, the son of the above Johannes.

Johannes Klock.

Johannes Klock, whose date of birth has been given, died before the year 1800, married Anna Margretha Fox, born January 3, 1713, died January 14, 1800, daughter of William Fox Sr. and Anna Margretha Kast. Johanness was the proprietor of old Fort Klock and is credited as the one who caused it to be erected in the year 1750, which is attested to by the date being cut in one of the stones of the building, together with the name of the builder, William Peek, who probably was the master mason. This old stone dwelling antedates any other building standing in the upper Mohawk Valley, with the exception of the old stone Church at Fort Herkimer, and has been owned and inhabited by successive generations of Klock' for a matter of 184 years, and stands to day (1934), inhabited by its present owner, Lipe Klock, as solid as the day it was built.

In it's earliest days it was a haven of refuge for those who lived in it's vicinity during the French and Indian War days, when the men folks carried their long barreled guns to field and woodlot, when they went there to work, and the woman and children stayed close to their inhabitants, lest their scalp lock went drying to Canada on the bent twig of some savage. It was in this war that Polly Klock (I have never learned who she was) lost a part of her hair by having it torn from her head by one of these savage hostels, yet she lived to tell the tale, and died at an advanced age. So says tradition, And I believe it true, for I heard the grim story from the lips of my father when I was a boy, and in many later years I heard it related by a kinsman of the Klock, one Norton by name, who said the tale had been handed down to him when he was a boy. But like myself he had forgotten everything except her being scalped by Indians, and that she lived to be very old, And so I have come to except the scalping of Polly Klock as a fact, though I know not whether she was a Klock by birth, or became one by marriage.

In the Revolutionary war this dwelling was stocked and used for the same purpose that it had been used for in the French and Indian War, and become know as Fort Klock, a term that was applied to such homes that were fortified during those perilous times, such as Fort Keyser, Fort Windecker, Fort House, etc. All of which or nearly so, were named after the owner. Of these Old Forts, Fort Klock alone remains to tell the story of those hazardous days. And speaking from within it's portals and from it's grim outer walls it tells the listener any ghastly tale of warfare and bloodshed. Tells of the hated redcoats marching by, and with them their red skinned allies, and how it heard the sound of musketry coming from the battle of "Klock's Field". Tells of the hoarse shouts coming from the throats of British musketeers, and piercing whoops of blood crazed savages, all mingled with the rattle of drums, while over it all, drifted the smoke of the battle.

And it will tell you too, of how on that day, October 19th,, 1780, it saw many burning homes, and many smoking grain stacks, all laid waste by the torch from the enemys hand, the hopes of the owners blasted, starvation staring them in the face, with winter close at hand. And if it would, it could tell us how it's owner three open it's doors to succor those so afflicted, until it's rooms were filled to overflowing, It will tell you how the horse of a wounded British Officer galloped up to it, and how both man and horse were secured and the man held as a prisoner of war in the small cellar. (This room remains to day as it was then, a room of about 10x12 with a stone bench rising up from the solid rock floor to the height of a foot or so, and running along it's walls at both ends and sides except where a doorway entered the main room of the cellar in which is a living spring of water coming forth from the rock floor.) It will tell you how John Klock sallied forth from it's doorway to drive off a couple of red skinned murderers who had shot a young girl and were about to scalp her: and it will relate how another young woman was shot and killed at one of it's portholes. And doubtless it could tell many another harrowing tale of these sturdy men and woman who held fast so grimly when all seemed lost to them. There are many I believe, who never pause to consider those terrible times, nor those who endured them, to the end that we who came might be rewarded.

Picture if you can, you men of today, of yourselves being the subject of one of those horrible affairs, when the victim of savage cruelty was literally hacked to pieces while yet alive, to the howling glee of his tormentors. And picture too, you woman of today, who give birth to your children in the comforting shelter of your homes, surrounded by all the necessary things called for on such an occasion, of being one who found herself alone in such a condition, in her rude habitation, and on the eve of an attack by the enemy. The time was at night and cutting the dogs throat to keep it quiet, she slipped out of the house with her three year old boy in her arms, and made for the Fort in the Valley, some three miles away. And it was going thus that "her hour" came upon her there in the darkness and she gave birth to the child she was carrying within her. And there in the black darkness of night she cared for it as best she could, and then went on to the safety of the Fort. That is history, and tells the story of what these lowly people suffered and endured.

Johannes Klock was sixty four years of age when the war for Independence broke out in all it's fury, and so was exempt from military duty. But, from the fact that his three sons were staunch supporters of the cause of liberty, it is quite likely that he too gave it his moral support and aided it in whatever way he could. But however that may be, we know that he served as militiaman in the French and Indian War, as records at Albany showed that he served under Captain Jacob Klock, when the troops were called out on an Indian alarm at the German Flatts in 1763. And that is all I know of the man Johannes Klock , from who I descended.

Johangurge (George) Klock

George Klock was born in the year 1714, and died in the year 1790: so say Bible records. He married Maria Catherine Walrad, and they lived near the banks of Crum Creek on the flats of the Mohawk on the north side of the river and but a short distance from the upper castle of the Mohawks which was then located near the present site of the old Indian Castle Church. The activities of this man would fill a book of interesting reading, were it written by one who was unbiased in their opinion. But alas little has been said of him but what was defamatory. Probably no man in the whole Mohawk Valley achieved greater notoriety than he, in his quarrel with that "Grand Old Man" of the Mohawk, Sir William Johnson, when the vituperations of the latter was heaped upon him, when Sir William sought to wrest the land from "Old George Klock", and acquire it for himself.

George Klock has left no written pages to tell his side of the story, but in the "Sir William Johnson Papers", and Colonial Documents, one can find the reason and result of the long drawn out battle between the two for possession of Mohawk Valley land. On one side was arrayed the mighty Sir William Johnson, then at the peak of his fame and power, backed by the throne of England with the multi-ramifications of intrigue and deceit among those who sat high in command at the time, and aided and abetted by certain ones of his red-skinned consorts. His castigation of George Klock was merciless as merciless in it's intensity as was the venom of his son Sir John, when that ruthless, grainless miscreant rent the fair Valley of the Mohawk asunder with his deeds of violence and bloodshed.

Pitted against this array of might and power was this impassive man of the Mohawk country, George Klock, show going Dutchman and farmer who, Sir William said, "ought to be hung", such a villain he was. But against the tremendous odds that confronted him, George Klock never faltered, but faced Sir William and his bastard brood of half breeds, and in the end retained the land which he had fought for, long after Sir William had passed away, and his copper hued paramour, Molly Brant, had left the Valley, never to return except for a brief stay. It might be well to say here, that of the vast holdings of Sir William Johnson, which comprised over two hundred acres of land, buildings, etc.., all were confiscated at the close of the war, while the property of George Klock remained in his name.

Of the moral character of the two men, Sir William Johnson the educated and highly gifted man of affairs, and George Klock, the uncouth Dutch farmer, little need to be said. All we know of the character of George Klock, has come from the pen of Sir William himself, and writers who have came along since, have enlarged upon that to such an extent that the name of George Klock is synonymous with nearly all the villainy with which mankind is possessed. Sir William has said that he made the Indians drunk to obtain their signatures to certain deeds of land. But it must be remembered that these same Indians petitioned the Crown to let him (George Klock) have the land, among whom was King Hendrick their chief, who also protested against the use of rum among his people, which was being brought in by the emissaries of those high in command. George Klock lived as a neighbor to the warlike Mohawks, and lived in peace, even as Hendrick his father had before him, and their friendly relations with the Klock's seems to have grown less over the quarrel between Sir William Johnson and George Klock.

History has recorded enough of the moral character of Sir William Johnson to dim a life that otherwise might have been filled with a greatness that would have a shining example for those who came after, had it not been what it is. Certain writers have sought to gloss over his mis-doings, but the fact remains that he was just about the most licentious and polygamous mortal that ever invested the Mohawk Valley. Such was the man who defamed the name of George Klock. Sir William Johnson, whom "Losing the historian" says was the father of a hundred children, chiefly by native mothers, whom he brought into this world by adulterous intercourse with comely wives of Indian braves, and virgin Indian maidens alike. All this is overlooked by some who say that Sir William only took the two Indian maidens, Catherine Hendricks, and Molly Brant, as his common law wives to aid him in his influence among their people. They also lay aside the fact that the first victim of his polygamous nature, Catherine Weisenberg, ( a German girl who had been bound out for her passage money to the Groat brothers, who lived near the then "plain William Johnson") was not legally married to him until after she had borne him three children and was lying upon her death bed, and then only, as one may well believe, to legitimize his children. Such was the man who some have called the "Grand old Man of the Mohawk." To which cause he would have attached himself, had he lived, is not easily answered, but it is quite likely that he would have thrown himself into the cause of the country which had Knighted him, and which had aided him so greatly in obtaining his landed possessions.

History has not dealt fairly with George Klock, anymore then it has with other Mohawk valley Dutchmen who defended the western frontier against invasion, and who gave their lives at bloody Oriskany and elsewhere along the quiet flowing Mohawk. And why? Because those who wrote it were not of the same race as these lowly people who were not given to writing history, but who laid down their lives in making it. They do not tell one that George Klock adhered to the cause of the Colonies, or that he gave freely of his possessions to aid it. But, there is no question but what did, and that he was a man of prominence in the war for Independence, for "History", does not say otherwise.

Jacob Klock.

Jacob Klock, whose place and date of birth remain unknown to myself, died May 9th 1798. From the will of Fredrick Bellinger we learn that Jacob Klock married his daughter Elizabeth, and was made executor of that instrument, which was executed the 21st day of November, 1764. Here a man whose great worth to the cause of liberty has been ignored by historians in the past, and who remains rest today in an unmarked grave, but where, no one can tell. A man too, about whom there has been some dispute, as to whether he was son of Hendrick the pioneer, and also as to whether he was the Colonel of the 2nd Regiment of Tyron County Militia. So I will give here such facts as I have learned concerning the man Jacob Klock, which I believe will help straighten out the matter.

He is also said by some to have been the eldest son of Hendrick by reason of his having been named executor of the will of Hendrick. But I have already pointed that I believe Hans Hendrick preceded him in birth, not alone because Hans Hendrick bore the Christian name of his father, and so was apt to have been his first born son, but moreover from the fact that if Jacob was born before Hans Hendrick, he would have been eighty two years of age at the breaking out of the war, and far to old to endure the things he was called upon to endure.

First we will note the claim of Max Otto von Klock who says that Jacob was born September 6th, 1723, and birth recorded in the Church records at Sobernheim in the Palatinate, Germany, studied law at the then University of Jayence (Mainz) about 1740. And he further claims that Jacob was not the son of Hendrick, but a nephew, who acted in the capacity of a son to the aging Hendrick. Another member of this family, Laura von Klock Pack, commenting upon the Ulster County Gazette of January 4, 1800, which con-tained an account of the funeral of George Washington, says: ASome years after the death of my Grandfather in Germany, a number of deeds and other papers of his were sent over by her (probably meaning her Grandmother) to my father, among which there was the Ulster County Gazette of Jan. 4, 1800, which, as we understand, were among the documents of my Great Grand uncle, Lt. Col. Bernhard Anton von Klock, who died at Rohrbach (near Heidelberg) on Jan. 17, 1805, having held a commission as Major in the Regiment, Deux-Ponts, which regiment served under Rochambeau, with Washington, Von Steuben, and LaFayette at the siege and surrender of Yorktown in 1781. My said great g-reat granduncle, who had been entertained by Washington,, was always a great admirer of his and after his regiment was transferred back to Europe, kept in touch with affairs in this country through his brother's family in the Mohawk valley, His brother had also served as Colonel and second in command at the Battle of Oriskany, under Herkimer, and his family sent the above "issue" to my great-great granduncle.

By this it would appear that Bernhard Anton von Klock, was a brother of the subject of 'this sketch, and a possibility that the father of both was the brother of Hendrick the pioneer, and that Jacob on coming to this country did assume the role of son to old Heidrick. Now the only thing that I have seen that would seem to substantiate such a claim, is the written statement of the daughter of Eve Klock (who was a Granddaughter of Jacob Klock the man we are writing about) who said that Eve Klock WAS NOT RELATED to Christian Klock (who was a great grandson of Hendrick the pioneer) before she married him. Now why did this daughter make such a statement? Did she make it to soften the alarm which she thought her children might feel on learning that their Grandparents were cousins? Or did she know the truth of the matter and so stated it to settle a disputed point. That is difficult to answer; but such was her statement, and so it stands.

Now in direct opposition to the foregoing claim that Jacob was not the son of Hendrick, comes a statement from Sir William Johnson to the effect that he was a son of Hendrick, by being the brother of George Klock, who was called Johangurge in the will of Hendrick, and named "Jerry or Ury" by Sir William when that gentleman had cause to mention his Christian. name. This statement is found in the "Johnson Manuscripts" (Vo. 4, page 144) among notes that Sir William had prepared in the coming trial of George Klock, for whom he had secured a summons to appear before the Council to answer charges of obtaining land of the Indians by making them drunk to secure their signatures to the Deed, and is given here in the original script. "Quere, why that patent has never been divided , respecting David Schuylers claim of 150 acres according to Mr. P. Livingatons letter to D. and P. Schuyler ye 16th April 1751. Hanjoost Klock, brother of Ury Flock, after being sworn acknowledged he swore to Mr. Hendk. Fry (Frey) and several others also to his brother Jacob Klock who has sworn the same".

Now there is no apparent reason to believe that Sir William did not know the true relationship thnt these men bore to each other and so the item quoted above seems to clear up any doubt as to Jacob not being a son of Hendrick. Yet there is a possibility that he did not, and at times a strong suspicion lurks in my mind that he called Jacob a "brother" to strengthen his case in the coming trial, for Jacob Klock at that time seems to have been an outstanding figure in military life in the upper Mohawk Valley.

We will now look again into the matter of Jacob having been the eldest son of Hendrick, and as such becoming heir to his fathers property by the law of primogeniture. Among the "Normander Papers" I found a bill of sale in which Hendrick Clock, on the 8th day of July 1743, conveyed to Jacob Clock in consideration of the sum of one hundred and twenty pounds (about $575.00) the following: One Negro slave named Dick, aged about 24 or 25, and all his stock, farming tools, household goods, etc., reserving for himself, one horse and one cow. This was witnessed by Johannes Empty (Empie) who affixed his signature with his mark (JE), and Suffernus Dygert who set his name down with the mark SD. Another paper disclosed the fact that on the same day and date, Hendrick Clock conveyed to Jacob Klock, 325 acres of land, more or less consideration, two hundred and fifty pounds, the exact amount that was paid for Lot No. 13 of the Harrison Patent by Klock and House some twenty years before. Another of these old papers (under date of July 12, 1743) says that Jacob Clock was firmly bound to Hendrick Clock in the sum of two hundred pounds (English money) to fulfill certain obligations as to payments of money to the seven children of Hendrick Clock, namely Henrich Jr., Hannarum, Hanjost, Johannes, Conrad, Johangurge, and Barvalis, the wife of Christian Nellis. The money paid to these seven children was five pounds each, a total of 55 pounds.

Whether or not Jacob Clock did pay the amount of money involved in the above transfer of property remained to be found out. But if he did, then he certainly did not become heir to it as some say. But it may be that the papers were drawn and witnessed by Hendrick to safe guard the interest of Jacob against other members of the family. The so called "Will" of Hendrick Clock is nothing more than a "paper" in which Jacob Clock is bound to Hendrick Clock in certain obligations, and simply bears the names of the two men who witnessed it.

We will now pry into the matter of who was Colonel of the 2nd. Regiment of Tyron County Militia, that still being a much mooted question among many. When the Oriskany Battlefield Monument was erected in 188?, the name of Jacob Klock was inscribed among others thereon as Colonel of the 2nd. Regiment of Tyron County Militia. Just who was responsible for this error I am unable to say, but an error it was whether diliberate or not. Now this Jacob G. Klock was a son of George (Johangurge) Klock, and when the battle of Oriskany was fought was a member of the State Legislature which convened at Poughkeepsie but a short time after that bloody affair happened, and being such no doubt was exempt from military duty, but however that may be I find no evidence of him having taken any part in it.

The real Colonel of the 2nd. Regiment of Tyron County Militia, Jacob Klock, never used the initial "G". in signing his name, and when he lay upon his death bed and signed his will the above Jacob G. Klock had drew up, he signed it plain JACOB KLOCK. To prove that he was the Colonel, one need but to read the testimony of witnesses taken at the time his will was proven, in which he was called "the Colonel" on two occasions. This proof of the identity of the two men finally became so convincing that the attention of the directors- of the Oriskany Battlefield grounds was directed to it, and in 1927 when the 150th. anniversary of the battle was held the initial "G" was erased, leaving the name, as it should be, plain JACOB KLOCK.

Now that we have disposed of that point let us turn to the man Jacob Klock himself, to see what part he played in Colonial days, and in the cause of Liberty. On May 31st., 1762, we find him appointed a Justice of the Peace of the Palatine Distri of of Tyron County, he being one of 40 to receive such an appointment. In the year 1763 we find him serving in the French and Indian War as Captain of Militia, and serving under him as lieutenant was none other than Nicholas Herkimer who later became the hero of bloody Oriskany, where the minions of King George were turned backward from in-vading the fair valley of the Mohawk by the stout hearted men who dwelt therein.

He was one of the organizers of the Tyron County Vigilance Committee which had it's inception at a meeting held at the house of Adam Loucks at Stone Arabia, August 27th, 1774, in which a ADeclaration of Independence was formulated and signed by the members, which antedated the National Document of July 4th 1776, by over a year, and was equally as clear and fearless in it's declaration as that famous document, as an abstract taken from it and submitted her will show. "We mean to submit to any arbitrary acts of any power under heaven, or to ant illegal and unwarrantable action of ant man or set of men that we abhor a state of slavery, we do join and unite together under all ties of religion, honor, justice and love of country, never to become slaves, and to defend our freedom with our lives and fortunes". Now if any one were to ask me, I would say thst these men had plenty of the material in which sausage is stuffed, and that they took their exercise for a number of years after in a manner far different than in running up bills and jumping at conclusions.

At a meeting held by the Committee, August 26, 1776, Jacob Klock was made Colonel of the 2nd Regiment of Tyron County Militia, and as such led it into the battle of Oriskany a year and twenty days later, where his commander General Nicholas Herkimer was wounded so severely that he died soon after. And from that day on, until the close of the war, do we know (through his letters to those high in command) best the man Jacob Klock, Colonel of Militia. Not a little has been written by historians concerning the officer who brought the troops off from the battlefield after the carnage was over. Some say one, and some say another, but never do they say that it was Colonel Klock who led them away down the valley. No one knows for a fact who that officer was, and as one guess is as good as another, I will say that it was Colonel Jacob Klock, and not alone because of his ranking seniority in military affairs, but from the fact that from that time on there fell upon his shoulders the talk of keeping invioable the homes of the Mohawk valley and those who dwelt in them, from the blazing torch, the tomahawk, and the scaling knife of savage beast's red man, and white man alike.

Like others who were high in command at the time, he was charged with numerous things, one of which was his slowness in acting at the approach of the enemy. But nearly thirty, or more years of border warfare had made him wary of the mode of Indian attact, and from the fact that none of the troops under him were ever ambushed, shows that he was well fitted for the job, and was not to be drawn into any hasty action, such as had precipitated the fight in the bloody ravine at Oriskany, where General Herkimer was taunted with cowardice until his just anger got the better of him, and he gave the well remembered command, "Vowarts".

Such a scene as that, where he saw his friends and neighbors, and his brother Adam killed off like flies, did not make a coward of Colonel Jacob Klock. But it no doubt made him doubly cautious in his future actions, with the wily foe, which was harped upon by his enemies. And coupled with this; was the disloyalty of his son Adam who, in the later part of the was fled to Canada and joined the British forces, but who had the courage to return to the valley shortly and face the scorn of his neighbors.

That Colonel Klock was respected by the Governor Clinton (the Commander of New York State Militia) is made clear by the Governor's letters to him, in which the former places the utmust confidence in his ability to protect the Mohawk Valley from invasion, but who gives him little aid in doing so. Now it requires no great stretch of the imagination to realize the difficulties under which this man, Jacob Klock, whose life was then in the glooming, must have labored. The half hearted support which was given him when he pleaded for help from the Regular Army, to aid in the protection of the valley from the depredations being committed Indians and Tories alike, and was told to work out the salvation of the inhabitants as best he could, with the meager force under his command.

And ringing in his ears must have been the cries of fatherless children and the wails of their mother's whose husbands had died on the field of battle, or had been murdered in their homes under the eyes of their loved ones, and their place of abode left in blackened ruins, together with the destruction of the necessities of life, and this quite often in the face of an approaching winter. Yet for four long years he labored as best he knew, undaunted and seemingly undisturbed by the taunts of his enemies and the desertion of his son, but ever mindful of the destitution of his people and their needs.

Hannarum Klock

I fail to find any record of this son, other than that of his being mentioned in the will of his father, and I have also failed to learn the English equivlent of the name Hannarum. He may have died a natural death before the breaking out of the Revolution, or he might have been one of the Clock traders that was killed at the German Flatts in 1758 by French and Indians. And again he may have been slain on the battlefield of Oriskany where like many other who were killed on the day, his body was left to lie where it had fallen, its flesh to rot under the rays of the hot August sun, and it's bones to lie uncovered and whiten in the coming years. History tells us that they who were slain there were never buried, and that a few days later when General Arnold was on his way to the relief of Fort Stanwix the stench from the decaying bodies was so great that a detour was made around the battlefield.

Note: Simms in his"Frontiersman of New York" says that Conrad, Jacob, Adam and Joseph (Hanjoost) Klock, settled in the present town of Fairfield, Herkimer County, N.Y., a few years before the War broke out, and were taken prisoners in the Tory and Indian raid of March, 1778. To substantiate this we have the affidavit of John Woolaver which was made to secure a pension for the widow of Captain Jost Dygert, a soldier of the Revolution, who part-icipated in, and survived the battle of Oriskany, which we quote from in part as follows: "This deponent saith that in the fall of the year 1776 aforesaid, the said company was again ordered out on duty under said Dygert to what Fairfield (this was sworn on the 23rd day of June, 1837) in said county of Herkimer, and than called KLOCKS or Maltaners settlement or bush." *Jacob was probably the son of Colonel Jacob Klock, or the son of Johannes his brother, who also had a son Jacob. *Adam also appears to have been a son of the Colonel, but Conrad and Hanjost were no doubt sons of Hendrick the pioneer. Simms further says that Adam and Joseph enlisted in the Bri tish service to embrace an opportunity to return home, and coming down with an invading party, they seized a favorable moment and joined their friends. But he fails to say what became of Jacob and Conrad, and not knowing myself who they really were, I can only say that I too, do not know, for the mere mention of a Jacob Klock of that period was not specific, there being sevaral of that name, which usually denoted the name of their father.

Conrad Klock.

Conrad Klock was a soldier of the Revolution, wast at the battle of Oriskany and survived it. After the war had ended he went westward into Lenox territory with his sons Conrad, Jacob C, and Johannes, where new homes were built in the wilderness that the covered the western part of York State. A village Clockyille, N.Y., took it's name from those early Klock settlers.

Hanjost Klock

We find nothing in the papers of this man.

Adam Klock

Adam Klock who is believed to have been a son of Hendrick from the fact that he was exempt from the draft (he was not mentioned in the will) When the war began, waived his exemption at the call of General Herkimer and marched with the militia to the shambles of Oriskany, where he was slain. The death of his widow appears in Church records, as does that of his daughter Anna, who married James Riley. Whether or not there were other children, remains to be seen.

We will now submit a list of Klock's who served under Colonel Jacob Klock during the Revolution, such as we have gleaned from one source and another:

Captain Levinus Klock
Lt. Jacob Conrad Klock
Pvt. Jost Klock
Pvt. Conrad Klock
Pvt. John Clock Pvt. George H. Klock
Pvt. John Klock Pvt. Adam Klock
Pvt. John I. Klock
Pvt. Adam Klock
Pvt. George G. Klock
Pvt. Hendrick Klock
Pvt. Hendrick Klock, Jr.
Pvt. Hendrick J, Klock
Pvt. Henry Klock, Sr.
Pvt. Jacob H. I. Klock
Pvt. Josph Klock

To say how many Klock's served in the Tyron County Militia, would be difficult, as no doubt the names of some were never recorded. And again the same man may have been recorded twice at separate times. Due to the carelessness of army clerks in recording names, and the apparent indifference of the men themselves in the matter of spelling and giving their names, much confusion has resulted in separating John's and the Henry's etc.., in an effort to identify each. Thus we have among these, four Henry's, two Joseph's, three Jacob's, two of George, three John's and two Adam's. Some of these are easy to distinguish while the identity of others can only be guessed at. For instance: Jacob Conrad Klock who by his middle name is identified as the son of Conrad. John I. Klock (the initial "I" in this I believe should be a "J" was brought so far above the line as to resemble the letter "I") as the son of Johannes: George G., as the son of George : Hendrick J., as the son of: Johannes; Jacob H. I. Klock (note the "I") as the grandson of old Hendrick, and son of Johannes; George H., as the son of "some" Henry; One Adam no doubt was the son of Colonel Jacob Klock. One of the John's was no doubt the son of Hans Hendrick, and the other the son of Conrad, while Jost and Conrad were the son of old Hendrick.