Re: Sam Gonsalus (1733-1821) Sullivan Co, NY
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In reply to:
Re: Sam Gonsalus (1733-1821) Sullivan Co, NY
6/26/01
Dear Jim: Thank you so much for your reply. There is a great deal of interest in our community regarding the life of Samuel Gonsalus who gave his name to a local landmark (Sam's Point) as well as to the nature preserve that adjoins us (the Sam's Point Dwarf Pine Ridge Preserve owned by the Open Space Institute and managed by the Nature Conservancy. This past Saturday (6/30/01)I led a history/archaeology hike through the Preserve, sponsored by the Nature Conservancy and the Cragsmoor Historical Society. We devoted some time to an analysis of the Legend of Sam's Point...trying to understand the event from both Samuel's perspective as well as from the perspective of his Native American pursuers. We had a much bigger turnout than expected - setting a record actually. People were just fascinated to discover that there were so many Gonalus family members out there and that so much genealogical information about the family was available online.
As far as specific questions...a lot of what we have comes from Quinlan's 1873 "History of Sullivan County" and is questionable. Susan Benton Schock (who I met online) has kindly supplied much genealogical data, some of which can be used to verify or correct Quinlan. Do you have anything on the circumstances of Manuel I's immigration to New Netherland or about his early life in Kingston? We would also like to know more about Samuel's wife Elizabeth Van Vliet and about their children ...also whether there are any living descendents from this line ...any great-great-great-great-great etc. grandchildren out there. Susan provided us with a list of all the family members who were murdered or captured by Native Americans. Do you know anything about this? For instance, there is a tradition that Manuel II's (whose gravestone can still be seen in Wurtsboro, NY) hand was severed to see if it really weighed a pound on the scale as he claimed during fur trading deals. There is another tradition that Samuel became a Tory during the Revolution and joined Joseph Brant's band. Do you know anything about this?
It seems from your post that some stories have come down through your family. We would be interested in hearing these.
So, when you have time to review your files, please let me know if you have anything pertaining to the first few generations of the Gonsalus Family, especially the Mamakating Branch of Manuel II. We would especially be interested in anecdotes that might not be available through other sources.
Thanks again,
Wendy
More Replies:
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Re: Sam Gonsalus (1733-1821) Sullivan Co, NY
Carmelita Kammann 7/14/01
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Re: Sam Gonsalus (1733-1821) Sullivan Co, NY
Lahna Neely 7/05/03
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Re: Sam Gonsalus (1733-1821) Sullivan Co, NY