Among the Frontiersmen of the Adirondacks, and Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 heroes, is Major Nicholas ("Nick") Stoner, a pioneer's son, a patriot soldier in his youth and middle-age and a life-long hunter and trapper.
Nick's father, Henry Stoner, was one of the first, if not the very first, settlers at Broadalbin, NY. Henry and his two sons enlisted to fight in the war of the Revolution, in 1777, after their house was attacked by Tory and Indian raiders who burned Fonda's Bush (Broadalbin) in June 1777.
Nick was only 15 years old when he enlisted in the Continental Army as a drummer boy. Yet, Nicholas learned when half-grown to shoot, with deadly accuracy, the wild animals that abounded in the surrounding forests; so the family might eat, while the land was being cleared and corps grown. For in those days supplies could not be imported but food must be procured in the woods.
Henry returned home just before the end of the Revolutionary War and moved to a farm at Albany Bush. There he was killed and scalped by Indians, leaving his sons with a deep hatred of "Red Men."
Many years later, Nick heard an Indian boasting at the old Black Horse Tavern at Johnstown, NY. As the story goes, the Indian who had come down with a group from Canada to sell their furs at Johnson Hall. After trading their furs for money, they gathered at the tavern boasting to each other of their conquests. One of the Indians was speaking in Mohawk tongue to his friends about the notches on his tomahawk, "and this long one," he said, "is for old Henry Stoner."
Nick, who understood and spoke with ease that language, grabbed the red hot iron from the fireplace and hit the murderer on the head. It is presumed that the Indian was killed, although he was removed by his companions, who disappeared into the woods.
Nicholas Stoner was a personal friend of James Fenimore Cooper and was believed by many that he was the original "LeatherStocking" character in Cooper's series of books. Stoner was well remembered by his neighbors after the wars he had fought in and would not admit that he had killed as many Indians as he was supposed to have done. Neither did he actually deny it.
Nicholas Stoner applied for and received a military pension in 1818, equal to $8 a month. In the Trappers of New York, Jeptha Root Simms wrote the following about Stoner’s life in 1846: “An old trapper resides in the town of Garoga, Fulton County; at a settlement which has recently sprung up, called Newkirk’s Mills. He owns a comfortable dwelling in which he lives, (and) draws a pension from the general government. His home is situated pleasantly on the outlet of Garoga Lakes, two crystal sheets of water.”
All those who knew him, liked him, admired him and tried to make his last days pleasant. He died in 1851. Stoner’s home was recognized in 1976 with a New York State historic marker.
Source: Cyrus Durey: Frontiersmen of the Adirondacks: Economic Development in Early North America ($1.99 Kindle ebook, paperback $7.99)
This newly published historical book is available at local booksellers, like Mysteries on Main Street in Johnstown, NY and other Upstate New York communities, or online at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.
Cyrus Durey: Frontiersmen of the Adirondacks: Economic Development in Early North America (ebook and paperback editions)
Frontiersmen of the Adirondacks: Economic Development in Early North America [NOOK Book] (ebook and paperback editions)
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